Shocking figures emerged this week showing that more brothels have been detected in the first six months of 2010 than in each of the last four years.

The figures from the Gardai's PULSE system reveal that 28 brothels have been discovered up to the end of June. Two brothels were detected in Roscommon and another two busted in Longford since January 2010.

Although none have been detected in Leitrim so far this year, Gerardine Rowley from Ruhama, a charity working with women affected by prostitution, said there are prostitution dens in "every county in Ireland," including Leitrim.

Gerardine described the shocking figures as the "tip of the iceberg." She said the 28 brothels detected so far this year was a "low" number which was "not representative of the problem."

"The figures do not surprise us at Ruhama," she said. The charity deal with women who have become caught up in prostitution and human trafficking. Ruhama has been 21 years working in Ireland and although at the start their work concentrated on Dublin and major urban areas, the prostitution ring has now spread across all of rural Ireland.

Ms Rowley was speaking to the Leitrim Observer on Tuesday, July 20 while she was visiting the North West to meet with a victim of human trafficking.

Ms Rowley commended the gardai for their work in detecting sex dens but said that the force are poorly resourced to combat the problem with only "two officers in the vice squad" which works exclusively within Dublin. She stated that the booming sex trade is not a "policing priority."

She said women who have no other option but to become a prostitute, usually come from economically poor countries and if they do escape the illegal sex den it takes "years to get over the psychological damage."

Ms Rowley said that closing down brothels does not combat the problem as they can be easily re-opened in a short space of time. "Brothels which are closed down can be easily re-opened within hours in the same area," she said. She commented that the Gardai are not equipped with legislation, personnel or technology to effectively bust brothels. She said prostitution is a "high profit, low risk crime" which is run by very "dangerous people." She said there is no "pretty woman" ending to prostitution.

She also called for new laws to criminalise consumers of the sex trade and added that the people who need to be arrested are the pimps and gang bosses not the vulnerable women who are forced into the brothels.

For more information on the work of Ruhama to seek help and support from the group visit www.ruhama.ie or call:(01) 8360292.